2008 - 2007 Research Director's report archive

20 November 2008 - LCWS08 The LCWS08 and ILC 08-workshops are going on in Chicago right now. For many years, the LCWS workshops have brought together the physics and detector communities to discuss recent advances relevant to the linear collider. -- By Sakue Yamada

16 October 2008 - All common task groups are ready to start Following the discussions with the representatives of the groups preparing the letters of intent (LOI) and the members of the common task groups during the European Committee for Future Accelerators (ECFA) workshop in Warsaw, we have been working to reinforce the two common task groups, the detector R&D Panel and the Physics Panel, by inviting more members outside the LOI group community. -- By Sakue Yamada

18 September 2008 - What becomes of the WWS ...For an up-to-date description of the Research Directorate see the new Physics and Detectors web page... ecall that the starting point has been the World Wide Study, WWS, organised in 1998 ... -- By Francois Richard

17 July 2008 - My tribute to Yoji Arriving at DESY last Thursday, I heard the sad news of Yoji from home. This reminded me of the most enjoyable days I had in physics with him here at DESY... - By Sakue Yamada

17 July 2008 - The first IDAG meeting in Warsaw and common task groups The first meeting of International Detector Advisory Group (IDAG) for the ILC detectors was held in Warsaw during the ECFA Linear Collider workshop on 9 and 10 June. There were both open and closed sessions. The closed meeting became a good chance for the IDAG members to meet with each other, the Letter-of-Intent (LOI) representatives and research directorate members in order to share their views as to what their tasks are and how the validation process can be made. -- By Sakue Yamada

12 June 2008 - New US Strategic plan for particle physics recommends restored participation in ILC R&D This past year, our global collaboration was derailed by funding cuts for the ILC in the UK and in the US. (...) Our dedication and perseverance have been challenged, but the science has not changed: particle physics will need a high-energy linear collider. In the US, a new strategic plan for the funding agencies restates the importance of a lepton collider to advances in particle physics. -- By Jim Brau

17 April 2008 - Designing groups and detectors Three concept groups have responded to the call for Expressions of Interest: ILD, SiD and the 4th concept group. Now we can go one step further, namely the common task groups will be formed by the members of each of these groups. -- By Sakue Yamada

20 March 2008 - We call for Expressions of Interest ... I would like to ask those groups which intend to submit Letters of Intent (LOIs) to send me an email with the names of currently participating institutions and up to two names of contact persons. There are many issues to discuss and to do together with the LOI groups before the LOIs can be submitted. -- By Sakue Yamada

14 February 2008 - New timeline for detector activities The new detector plans prepared in consultation with the Organizing Committee of the Worldwide Study of Physics and Detectors for Future Linear e+e- Colliders (WWS-OC) were discussed at the last ILCSC meeting on 11 February at DESY and were approved. -- By Sakue Yamada

17 January 2008 - The new phase on track Last October we started a new phase in planning the ILC experimental programme after many years of coordination through the World Wide Study. Following a few months of discussion, we are now ready to put the new phase on track. -- By Sakue Yamada

21 November 2007 - Where are we now It has been several weeks since I last wrote for ILC NewsLine, right after becoming the research director. Since then, I had many occasions to talk with more people. Each meeting or telephone conversation was fresh to me. Through these discussions, I realised that some of the given charges are more urgent or fundamental, while the main task does not change. -- By Sakue Yamada

4 October 2007 - A novel challenge The invitation to become the newly created research director for the International Linear Collider detector design was a surprise. -- By Sakue Yamada